DRIVING INNOVATION: MERCEDES-BENZ USA OPENS NEW HEADQUARTERS IN SANDY SPRINGS
By Lisa R. Schoolcraft
When luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) decided to build its new corporate headquarters in metro Atlanta’s Sandy Springs, the company wanted a building that looked as innovative as its vehicles. “All the stars are aligned,” said Dietmar Exler, President and CEO of MBUSA, at the building’s opening in March 2018. “Our new Atlanta headquarters marks a highpoint for Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. market, not just in terms of being the leading luxury brand in the U.S. for the past two years, but also in terms of this building, which is designed from the inside
out to enable a creative, innovative and empowered workforce more representative of a startup than a conventional corporation.”
The 200,000-square-foot four-story building, which sits on a 12-acre campus near Georgia 400, has a glass exterior, supported by a steel structure. The glass, which runs the full length of the building, allows employees to enjoy daylight anywhere in the building. Construction began in spring 2016 on the building, which was designed from the inside out and entirely purpose-built around the way employees will use the space. As an environment oriented around encouraging interaction and creativity, the workplace has a 1:1 ratio of collaborative seating and individual workstations.
Gensler designed the building, while Lowe Engineers handled the civil engineering and Barrett, Woodyard & Associates Inc. negotiated the mechanical and electrical engineering. Uzun + Case LLC was the structural engineer on the $93 million project. Skanska USA was the construction manager.
Continue reading this story in the May/June 2018 issue of Engineering Georgia by clicking here.
